Saturday 11 April 2009 11.16 EDT
First published on Saturday 11 April 2009 11.16 EDT

An American-owned tugboat has been reported hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, according to Nato officials on board a warship in the region.

The Reuters news agency reported that the Italian-flagged vessel has 10 Italian citizens among its 16-member crew.

Lieutenant Sergio Carvalho aboard the Portuguese warship NRB Corte-Real, which is protecting shipping lanes in the area, said the tugboat issued a distress call before communications went silent six minutes later, according to Reuters.

In another incident today Reuters reported that Somali pirates attacked a 26,000-tonne, Panama-flagged bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden but were driven away by sailors spraying them with water-hoses.

Nato officials on board the NRB Corte-Real said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade landed in the commanding officer's cabin during the attack and bullets were fired at the ship, the news agency reported.